


The Guise Of Change

by GothMoth



Series: Ectobers Ectoplasmic Splatters [45]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Disguise, Gen, Growing Up, Introspection, Secret Identity, the quirks of being a halfa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:22:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27286369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GothMoth/pseuds/GothMoth
Summary: When Danny died he really didn’t change much at all, and that was a problem. But ghosts only resembled their living selves rather than looking the same as they once did.
Series: Ectobers Ectoplasmic Splatters [45]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1511411
Comments: 3
Kudos: 144





	The Guise Of Change

**Author's Note:**

> Ectober 2020 Day: 30 - Disguise

Danny’s well aware his disguise is flimsy at best, borderline non-existent at worst. The divide between his two halves was practically reliant on the fact that being half-dead was illogical and should be impossible. Like, _literally and explicitly impossible_ ; even in the opinion of ghost experts. Slapping on a jumpsuit and some colour changes does not a good identity-hiding costume make. He had felt a little jealous of Vlad in that regard. Put Masters and Plasmius next to each other and almost no one is going to think they’re even related. The face shape was pretty much the only similarity, but the shadows a ghosts glowing eyes could throw across their faces really changed the way their faces looked. Ancients, that’s probably the only reason his parents’ hadn’t recognised Danny Phantom’s face as being identical to their son's face. Same for the rest of his body honestly, his jumpsuit didn’t exactly hide his figure. If he lost his glow he would have probably be screwed. Utterly screwed. 

Problem was, he couldn’t change his ghost form. That was literally just his body, his suit was basically a second skin. Hair couldn’t be dyed and if he wanted to wear a mask it would get constantly destroyed, and he’d have to carry it with him constantly. The chances of someone finding said mask on human Danny Fenton was too great a risk and absolutely _would_ get him revealed in a heartbeat. And he wasn’t about to ask Vlad how the heck his ghost form looked so different from his human one. Even the guy's physique changed. Masters was a skinny man, Plasmius had a comically broad chest. But Danny’s not about to let that man think he’s learned _anything_ from him. Vlad is _not_ going to be his mentor in any shape, way, or form. Fuck that guy and his villainous ulterior motives. 

So that had kinda left him in a bit of a pickle. So what did he do? Eh, what he usually does. Ignored the problem and hoped it went away, while also making his paranoia just that much worse. Did that usually work out for him? Hell no. It usually bit him squarely and directly in the ass soon rather than later. So whole ass, he expected to get bit; and probably by some stupid mistake or something ridiculously simple. Like someone taking a photo of him and accidentally turning on their phone’s colour invert. His parents’ tech messing up was always a possibility and had almost shattered his disguise more than once. To this day he is supremely glad that Dash is a bloody moron and that his dad is stupidly easily distracted. But standing in front of his mirror changing between his forms, he thinks he might just avoid that ass bite for once in his half-life. 

Watching the muscle on his arm change, shrinking down in human form to the point where he’s borderline scrawny then bulking up in ghost form to the point where he thinks he’s got a more muscular look than Dash does. Even his bone structure seemed to be changing now. His ghost form had a muscular broadness that his human form simply didn’t. Even his hands got bigger in that strong man muscular way. It weirded him out a little actually. But his running theory was that all the fighting and his increasing ecto-level was all going to his ghost half, rather than his human one. 

Sure he knows now that some of the other changes -like his fangs, claws, and tapered ears- were just him starting to develop into an adult ghost. His jumpsuit was going through its own changes naturally too, but that really doesn’t help him disguise himself at all. Plus the similarities to Dan’s jumpsuit, that he was starting to notice, was hard to feel happy about. At least he hasn’t started forming a cape or anything yet; even if that actually would help make his body look different between forms. Well okay, the pointiness did frame his muscles in a way that made them a little more noticeable. So he guesses it does help a little. 

The wavy smoky look his hair was taking definitely hid its shape, he just seriously hoped it stays wavy thick smoke and doesn’t transition into full-on flames. Sure that would make his forms look even more different, but he’d rather his forms look similar than look like Dan. But... sighing and shaking his head at the mirror, Dan was his future self, that’s probably what he’s going to look like no matter what he does. Well, excluding the red eyes. ClockWork had told him how the eye colour change had been due to Core damage that the whole ‘tearing out his humanity’ thing caused. He used to tell himself that he wouldn’t wind up looking like Dan since future Vlad said Dan was a combination of Phantom and Plasmius. But nope, according to the much more trustable resource that is ClockWork, Phantom had cannibalised Plasmius in pretty much a psychotic bout of madness. Since apparently completely cannibalising another ghost can make you stronger and even steal their powers. Danny is never making use of that information. 

Changing back human, another good thing was that none of the injuries he got ever scarred. Because no way could he explain all the kinds of scars he would have otherwise. Running a hand over his jaw, even his face was leaner in human form; and his cheekbones and eyes were a little shadowed/sunken like he didn’t quite eat or sleep enough, which he didn’t. He was starting to get facial hair in both forms though, at least it was kinda smoky in ghost form though. Running his thumb over the stubble, it annoyed the heck out of him how it was growing in as a pointy goatee and literally nothing he did seemed to change that. He’s pretty much resigned himself to the look at this point because he is not just shaving it off. He’s also resigned himself to Vlad making ‘approving’ and ‘mocking’ comments about it. Whatever, the guy can shove it. 

Now, the only thing he didn’t like about the differences between his forms was that it wasn’t just his appearance. He actually _was_ physically weaker in human form. He didn’t just look scrawny, he _was_ scrawny. It was annoying as Hell and very often he forgot that he couldn’t lift something in human form that he could in ghost form. It almost annoyed him enough to make a damn point to workout in human form. Problem was, that would run the risk of his human form developing in the same way as his ghost one. He didn’t want to make his forms look even more similar. And Ancients, both Fenton and Phantom bulking up? Talk about suspicious. That would be just another thing for anyone suspicious of him to add to their lists of suspicious shit. So he’d rather put up with the annoyance and inconvenience of a weak human form. Hell, he wore baggy clothing to accentuate his skinniness. 

Moving to flop down face-first in bed, changing between forms a bit just to feel his feet dangle off the bed slightly and then not at all. The height difference was something else getting annoying. He’s blaming that on him not eating enough, his ghost forms height had nothing to do with a good diet, unlike his human form. He honestly expects that as an adult there’s going to be a solid foot difference between his forms. Maybe more. Honestly? He’s just gonna have to get used to the differences. Even something as simple as rolling his shoulders or taking a deep breath felt so different between forms. But hey, it was worth his secret identity not being nearly as see-threw as glass. Now it was more like very foggy glass. 

The personality differences he made a damn point to emphasis between his forms probably helped too, which used to be hard to do but now it just felt natural to be meek and timid while human then bold and carefree while ghost. Which Jazz worries wasn’t exactly healthy, for him to effectively be juggling two personalities, that he genuinely might have forcibly developed two personalities. Even his friends have pointed out how he’d act a little differently based on form even when it was just with them. But needs be musts. If he had a level of a split personality then so be it. Besides, being stronger made him feel bolder, being smaller made him feel like more of a pushover. That just seemed right and natural. Being tiny just makes people _feel_ tiny. Being large in a muscular way just makes people _feel_ imposing. That’s normal, right? Eh oh well, if it’s not then it’s not. He’s not normal in the first place anyway. And yeah, he wasn’t doing the whole superhero disguise thing even remotely normal or according to the movies and comic books. But fuck it, it seemed like it was going to work out for him, and he doesn’t have to carry around a suit or disguise crap. There will be no changing in phone-booths for him or wearing a jumpsuit under his clothing (which honestly? Talk about an easy way to get caught). 

Hell, maybe those fictional heroes should be jealous of _him_. All he had to do was alter his molecular/genetic structure and the substance his body was made out of, not cart around a whole ass disguise and perpetually speed change. And now that his body was changing, well maybe he actually was lucky.

**End.**


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